Glen Tanar Mountain Biking

Glen Tanar is a private estate and National Nature Reserve on Royal Deeside, near Aboyne, where some of Scotland's oldest Caledonian pinewood lines the Water of Tanar. Most of the riding is on estate tracks, waymarked paths and old drove roads: six waymarked routes of 0.6km to 8.3km start from the visitor centre, longer tracks run deep into the glen, and the Firmounth and Mounth roads climb over the hills towards Glen Esk and the summit of Mount Keen. There is also one adopted singletrack trail, the red graded Masterblaster, maintained by the Aberdeenshire Trail Association with the estate's agreement.

The Trails

• Waymarked routes: all six start from the Braeloine Visitor Centre, from the short Chapel of St Lesmo loop (1.75km) and Knockie Viewpoint (3.2km) out to the Riverbank Path (4.7km) and the Old Pines Path (8.3km) into the heart of the forest. They run on crushed stone and grass with a few short, gentle slopes. Each has its own symbol on the posts along the way, and they are shared with walkers.
• Estate tracks: a network of estate tracks runs up the glen beside the Water of Tanar, giving easy, mostly gentle riding through the pinewood and circular loops of around 5km for a family ride.
• Mount Keen: Scotland's most easterly Munro, at 939m, sits at the head of the glen on the estate boundary. The estate promotes the ride towards the summit as a challenge for experienced riders. It is a long day out, a round trip of around 25km from the visitor centre, and the last climb is steep and rough, so expect to push. It is high, exposed ground, so go with the right kit and a current forecast.
• Masterblaster (Red): the estate's one adopted singletrack trail, a one-way descent of around 1.9km with about 220m of drop through the woodland. The Aberdeenshire Trail Association maintains it in partnership with the estate, and has built a new ending and improved the surfacing and drainage along its length.

Glen Tanar is a National Nature Reserve and home to capercaillie and ground nesting birds. At certain times of year the ranger service may ask visitors to keep dogs on leads or keep out of parts of the reserve, so follow any signs and requests from staff. Other informal singletrack runs through the woods, but no trail group maintains it and this listing does not cover it, so stick to Masterblaster, the tracks and the waymarked routes.

Gravel Riding

Glen Tanar is best suited to a gravel bike or a hardtail. The waymarked routes and estate tracks are crushed stone and grass, and the old drove roads that cross the glen, used to move cattle south to market, are now long rough tracks for exploring the wider hills. The Firmounth road climbs from the visitor centre over the high moor to Glen Esk in Angus. The Aboyne and Dinnet link paths join the glen to the Deeside Way, so you can ride in from either village without the car and make a longer loop. For built singletrack nearby, Balfour Forest is about 6km to the east.

Facilities

• The Glen Tanar Visitor Centre at Braeloine, run by the Glen Tanar Charitable Trust and home to the ranger service, has toilets (including one for wheelchair users), drinking water, displays on the glen's wildlife and heritage, and a charging point for electric bikes. It is open every day except Tuesday, 10am to 5pm.
• Bike hire is available at Cycle Highlands in Ballater.

Local Organisations

The Aberdeenshire Trail Association is the volunteer group that maintains Masterblaster, working with the estate. It also looks after trails at Balfour Forest, Pitfichie and Ballater, runs dig days through the year, and can be contacted at aberdeenshiretrailassociation@gmail.com.

Getting Here

• From Aboyne, cross the River Dee and take the B976 west. After about three miles, turn right at the Bridge and Tower o' Ess into Glen Tanar and follow the signs to the visitor centre car park at Braeloine, AB34 5EU. Parking charges apply.
• The access road is single track with passing places and is not suitable for motorhomes or towed vehicles.
• To leave the car at home, the Aboyne and Dinnet link paths connect the glen with the Deeside Way.

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